SWFL Golf: Can You Swing It?

The PGA names the area's 9 toughest holes—and local pros tell you how to play them

By Spencer Campbell

The difficulty of any golf course typically mirrors the severity of its geography. The flatplan fairways of Texas become taxing only when fried under the scorching Lone Star sun. Scotland’s links are lullabies till a squall rolls in off the North Sea. Pebble Beach’s iconic 18th would be just another two-shot par 5 if the Pacific Ocean wasn’t waiting to devour over-cooked hooks. And Southwest Florida? Well … “We live in paradise,” says Dan Gawronski, head golf professional at Pelican’s Nest Golf Club in Bonita Springs and director of the Southwest Florida chapter of the PGA of America. Other than some afternoon showers come summer, don’t expect too much trouble from Collier and Lee counties’ incessant sunshine. (Though swinging with sunburn is never easy.) Creating meticulously malicious golf courses wouldn’t fit our lifestyle.

But don’t let the climate lull you into a false sense of security. Southwest Florida golf courses do have inherent hazards—wet ones, in particular. Gawronski says real estate developers bought up patches of inland water and swamp because they were cheaper than tracts of solid earth. They then dynamited the ponds and wetlands to create the fairways and greens that now wind through our neighborhoods. The result is a network of courses that invoke target golf, where accuracy is essential to keeping your ball—and your score—afloat.

“If anything, it may just be the style of the golf course,” he says. “Water adds beauty, but it’s also challenging. A forced carry to a fairway could intimidate an intermediate golfer.”

To read the entire article, pick up Gulfshore Life at select newsstands or purchase a copy of the digital edition. A full version of the story will be available on Jan. 2. Or subscribe now to Southwest Florida's leading magazine.

And not to veer into scare tactics, but forced carries are popular hangouts for our state reptile, the alligator. Plus, Southwest Florida golf, with nearly 200 golf courses, is a numbers game. Multiply that by 18, and there you have it. You shouldn’t have any lack of evidence.

The evidence we went looking for? The nine most difficult holes in Collier and Lee counties. Helping us in our quest was the PGA of Southwest Florida, whose members offered nominations for the meanest holes around. We knew we had a reliable list after noticing the inclusion of a course whose name has been converted to a verb—as in, “I got Corkscrewed”—and another called simply Long Mean. Should you find yourself on the tee box of one of the Nasty Nine, don’t fret. Representatives at each of the courses have outlined the dangers that await you and how to conquer them. Paradise may have potholes, but that doesn’t mean they have to ruin your round.

No. 9, Old CorkscrewGolf Club, Estero

Designer: Jack Nicklaus

Par 4

Professional tees: 423 yards

Member tees: 357 yards

Women’s tees: 291 yards

This hole generally catches the first-time visitor a little off guard because it’s deceptively benign from the tee. But the approach shot will send your mind reeling, conjuring images of the penultimate hole at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. The green is built on a retaining bulkhead with water encircling a good portion of it. You can bailout to the left, but that usually means ending up in a sand trap that requires a precisely executed bunker shot. It’s a par or bust for most players. Don’t fret if you happen to land in the latter—the dejected golfer has only a short trek to the beer station.

—Mark Iwinski, director of operations

No. 7, The Club at Olde Cypress, Naples

Designer: P. B. Dye

Par 3

Championship tees: 228 yards

Tournament tees: 208 yards

Dye/Preserve tees: 191 yards

Pines tee: 168 yards

Cypress tee: 148 yards

The only non-par 4 on the list, its nickname, Dual Sleepers, refers to the two large sand traps that guard the entire right side of the green. A pot bunker in front of the green and two others short-left (a replica of the Principal’s Nose bunkers at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland) are visually intimidating. But bail long and left and your ball will find a collection area. The green favors a left-to-right approach from the tee to the long and narrow green.

—Mike Hulbert, director of golf

No. 16, Fiddlesticks Country Club’s Long Mean course, Fort Myers

Designer: Ron Garl

Par 4

Championship tees: 464 yards

Blue tees: 430 yards

Member/White tees: 406 yards

Silver tees: 375 yards

Red tees: 300 yards

Aqua: 286 yards

This is the midpoint of five of the best finishing holes in Southwest Florida. A well-struck and long drive is required on this dogleg-right layout that wraps around water. Tee shots that miss left find mounds and formidable rough, making it tough to reach the green in regulation. Should you find the fairway, the approach offers little respite. Left finds two deep bunkers, while right leaves you with a difficult pitch to an elevated and rolling green. A par here usually beats even the strongest opponent.

—Jim Kurtzeborn, director of golf

No. 15, The Club at Renaissance, Fort Myers

Designer: Arthur Hill

Par 4

Black tees: 454 yards

Blue tees: 436 yards

Green/White tees: 398 yards

Gold tees: 370 yards

Maroon/Red tees: 327 yards

This long, dogleg-left features a fairway bunker that spans the entire left side of the landing area, and a water hazard lurks up the right, coiling around the back of the green, which is elevated and protected by the smallest bunker on the course. Driving the ball in the fairway is essential, and the approach shot requires pinpoint accuracy as the green falls away on all sides.

—David Kent, assistant general manager and director of golf

No. 9, Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club, Estero

Designer: Arnold Palmer

Par 4

Blue tees: 441 yards

Gold tees: 415 yards

Green/White tees: 390 yards

Silver/Copper tees: 338 yards

The front nine concludes with two stout par 4s, but No. 8 is slightly easier because it presents zero bunkers and little threat from water. Obstacles on the ninth begin the moment you tee your ball up, the drive needing to be struck toward the left fairway bunker for a better angle on approach. From there, players have anywhere from 215 to 165 yards remaining, depending on the length of the drive. Three well-placed bunkers and a water hazard guard the right side of the green, which is 43 yards deep, affording a number of outstanding hole locations. Make your four, walk away and mentally prepare for the difficult back nine.

—Peter Beringer, head golf professional

No. 16, West Bay Beach & Golf Club, Estero

Designer: Pete and P. B. Dye

Par 4

Tournament tees: 457 yards

Championship tees: 428 yards

Back/West Bay tees: 383 yards

Masters/Middle tees: 336 yards

Forward tees: 297 yards

The hole doglegs right, so your drive must be on the left side of the fairway if you want to even see the green on your second shot. A good drive leaves you about 175 to 210 yards from the two-tiered green. The top tier is about 10 feet above the bottom. Your approach must carry an environmentally sensitive area that’s about 90 yards short of the green. Two great shots are needed just to sniff par on this hole.

—Jeffrey Raimer, director of golf

No. 15, The Old Collier Golf Club, Naples

Designer: Tom Fazio

Par 4

Championship tees: 468 yards

Medal tees: 427 yards

Player/Club tees: 404 yards

Intermediate tees: 384 yards

Forward tees: 324 yards

Eight-time major champion Tom Watson called No. 15 the toughest hole here, noting how designer Tom Fazio left nature alone to define course. The tee shot plays uphill, and given the gentle slope of the fairway from right to left, a player can sense that the best tee ball should be shaped in that direction. From the center of the fairway, players are presented with a panorama of the natural scrub habitat surrounding the hole. The approach has to carry this preserved area, yet remain below the hole as the green slopes substantially from back-left to front-right. A shot hit past the cup leaves a dangerous downhill putt.

—Steve Waugh, director of golf, and Brian Yarusevich, head golf professional

No. 2, Tiburon Golf Club’s Black Course, Naples

Designer: Greg Norman

Par 4

Championship tees: 422 yards

Back tees: 394 yards

Tiburón tees: 365 yards

Middle tees: 350 yards

Forward tees: 306 yards

With trees down the right and trees down the left, if you miss the fairway here there’s a good chance you’ll be shark bit. Though the most demanding on the course, the tee shot is one of the most scenic. Once through the narrow chute of pines, the fairway opens up to an undulating green surrounded by water on the right and bunkers on the left. A par here feels like a birdie.

—Jim Magnusson, director of marketing and membership sales

No. 4, Hunter’s Ridge Golf & Country Club, Bonita Springs

Designer: Gordon Lewis

Par 5

Championship tees: 630 yards

Men’s tees: 538 yards

Senior men’s tees: 450 yards

Ladies’ tees: 442 yards

Senior ladies’ tees: 432 yards

This monster meets golfers early in the round. It’s a slight dogleg left, but that’s only part of the challenge. From the back tees, a drive must carry 230 yards to reach the fairway, and shots leaning left or right are in danger of finding water hazards. An additional ribbon of water that slices through the fairway at 140 yards makes laying up more than a pro forma 3 wood. A 250-yard drive followed by a 210-yard second leaves 170 to a green featuring a false front sloping right-left and back-front.